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03-07-2022, 07:02 AM
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#1
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Member
Join Date: Jun 2019
Location: Shreveport
Posts: 64
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Aluminum wheels?
I'm replacing the tires on my travel trailer. It's been suggested to me that I replace the wheels with aluminum wheels to help them run cooler. Any thoughts on that?
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03-07-2022, 07:22 AM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Las Cruces
Posts: 4,665
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Aluminum dissipates heat better than steel. How much difference it makes is debatable. I’m sure you could find tests that have been conducted if you google it. What ever you change to, get a wheel with enough payload to safely carry the weight. By that I mean extra capacity, not just the minimum. A rep at Sendel Wheel explained it to me this way: A wheel is like an aluminum can. You flex it back and forth enough, it eventually cracks, typically around the hub. Wheels that are maxed out, flex more than ones that are not as stressed. That same principle applies to steel too. I’ve seen both aluminum and steel wheels on trailers break.
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03-07-2022, 08:28 AM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2020
Location: Upper Chesapeake Bay
Posts: 4,837
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I’d go with a higher rated wheel that would support the next weight capacity tire. Like from a c to d or d to e etc
Metal valve stems also
__________________
2020 Cougar 315 RLS
2020 Ram 3500 6.7HO 4.10 Dually Aisin
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03-07-2022, 09:37 AM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Las Cruces
Posts: 4,665
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jasin1
I’d go with a higher rated wheel that would support the next weight capacity tire. Like from a c to d or d to e etc
Metal valve stems also
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Metal valve stems for sure if you want to run a TPMS. Otherwise, high pressure rubber are fine. They should be getting replaced every 5 years anyway.
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03-07-2022, 02:16 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Picacho, Az
Posts: 6,809
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 1tenor
I'm replacing the tires on my travel trailer. It's been suggested to me that I replace the wheels with aluminum wheels to help them run cooler. Any thoughts on that?
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Are yours running hot? If so how are you determining that?
Do you have a TPMS providing pressures & temps?
I'd bet $$ that inflation would have more to do with tire temps than the type of wheel. Under inflation will create more heat. Ambient temps can increase temps 10-20% as witnessed by my TPMS.
IMO I doubt the temperature difference between aluminum or steel wheels would be noticeable enough to affect the tires longevity or abilities. I'd say the only real difference would be appearance.
Sounds like someone is trying to get in your wallet!
__________________
Full-timed 10+ years
Sold '13 Redwood FB
Traded '13 GMC Denali DRW D/A
Replacement undetermined
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03-07-2022, 03:13 PM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Las Cruces
Posts: 4,665
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Quote:
Originally Posted by travelin texans
IMO I doubt the temperature difference between aluminum or steel wheels would be noticeable enough to affect the tires longevity or abilities. I'd say the only real difference would be appearance.
Sounds like someone is trying to get in your wallet!
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I agree the differences are probably minor, but it is true that aluminum dissipates heat better than steel. I doubt it would be significant enough to have a major impact. The other benefits of aluminum are probably more important than the heat part. They’re lighter, stronger, and more true than steel wheels. They also look better and won’t rust. Price difference is also small. When I put new wheels on my RV, I paid $85 each for Sendel T11 with 3750 lb weight capacity. Now they’re $130, but even a steel wheel I purchased for my car trailer as a spare was $80.
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03-14-2022, 07:11 AM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2021
Location: Monument
Posts: 178
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 1tenor
I'm replacing the tires on my travel trailer. It's been suggested to me that I replace the wheels with aluminum wheels to help them run cooler. Any thoughts on that?
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Suggested by who? Does he sell aluminum wheels?
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03-14-2022, 07:13 AM
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#8
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Member
Join Date: Jun 2019
Location: Shreveport
Posts: 64
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No, just a friend who has been camping a lot longer than me.
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03-15-2022, 05:16 AM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2021
Location: Monument
Posts: 178
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 1tenor
No, just a friend who has been camping a lot longer than me.
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As mentioned before, the heat conducting abilities are negligible compared to the task at hand.
If you need more heat transfer, just drive faster!
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03-15-2022, 06:05 AM
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#10
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Site Team
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Joppa, MD
Posts: 11,757
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The typical reason for going to aluminum wheels is looks and weight savings. Heat dissipation is accomplished by air movement. Increasing air flow is the reason for drilled/slotted rotors, ventilated rotors vs solid rotors, and the ducted air over the brakes found on high performance cars.
__________________
Marshall
2012 Laredo 303 TG
2010 F250 LT Super Cab, long bed, 4X4, 6.4 Turbo Diesel
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03-15-2022, 07:27 AM
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#11
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Site Team
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Gaylord
Posts: 26,997
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Heat dissipation on metal selection for a travel trailer ?????
Sort of like "re-engineering wheels on a Prairie Schooner... When pulled by Oxen, you need wooden spoke wheels, but when in "high performance mode" and pulled by horses, you need "more heat dissipation in the wheels, so an upgrade is needed ??????
If we were "designing a travel trailer for high performance towing at speeds well above anything that's legal on a highway or that far exceeds the tire speed ratings, maybe a "metal choice to enhance heat dissipation" would be a consideration, but we're talking about a 1920's technology axle with conventional bearings, rubber seals, brake shoes activated by dragging an electromagnet along a cast iron hub with "no enhanced heat dissipation"...
I'd suspect that any wheel that would fit the axle would dissipate more than enough heat to keep the axles "in the safe temperature range"...
It would be, IMO, far more important to be concerned about the bearing condition, brake shoe lining condition and electromagnet "friction surface wear" than to even consider whether steel or aluminum wheels would be a better choice for "heat dissipation" on a Prairie Schooner.....
Now, if you were trying to tow at 250-300 MPH, maybe it would matter, but at 65-70 MPH.... YMMV, but ?????
__________________
John
2015 F250 6.7l 4x4
2014 Cougar X Lite 27RKS
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03-15-2022, 08:09 AM
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#12
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Gone Traveling
Join Date: Mar 2022
Location: funkley
Posts: 17
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03-15-2022, 09:25 AM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Mico, TX
Posts: 7,467
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JRTJH
Heat dissipation on metal selection for a travel trailer ?????
Sort of like "re-engineering wheels on a Prairie Schooner... When pulled by Oxen, you need wooden spoke wheels, but when in "high performance mode" and pulled by horses, you need "more heat dissipation in the wheels, so an upgrade is needed ??????
If we were "designing a travel trailer for high performance towing at speeds well above anything that's legal on a highway or that far exceeds the tire speed ratings, maybe a "metal choice to enhance heat dissipation" would be a consideration, but we're talking about a 1920's technology axle with conventional bearings, rubber seals, brake shoes activated by dragging an electromagnet along a cast iron hub with "no enhanced heat dissipation"...
I'd suspect that any wheel that would fit the axle would dissipate more than enough heat to keep the axles "in the safe temperature range"...
It would be, IMO, far more important to be concerned about the bearing condition, brake shoe lining condition and electromagnet "friction surface wear" than to even consider whether steel or aluminum wheels would be a better choice for "heat dissipation" on a Prairie Schooner.....
Now, if you were trying to tow at 250-300 MPH, maybe it would matter, but at 65-70 MPH.... YMMV, but ?????
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__________________
wiredgeorge Mico TX
2006 F350 CC 4WD 6.0L
2002 Keystone Cougar 278
2006 GL1800 Roadsmith Trike
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03-15-2022, 10:41 AM
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#14
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2021
Location: Monument
Posts: 178
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Who says you can't pull an RV with an Explorer?
WDH's are for sissies.
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03-15-2022, 12:05 PM
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#15
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Gone Traveling
Join Date: Mar 2022
Location: funkley
Posts: 17
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Those guys wouldn't stand a chance,
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03-20-2022, 08:24 AM
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#16
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2018
Location: Akron
Posts: 458
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bsmith0404
Metal valve stems for sure if you want to run a TPMS. Otherwise, high pressure rubber are fine. They should be getting replaced every 5 years anyway.
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I published a short video on my RV Tire Safety blog of a failed "Hi-Pressure" rubber stem. Why risk loosing a TPM sensor and a tire to save a buck?
__________________
Retired Tire Design Engineer (40 years). Serve on FMCA Tech Advisory Committee. Write a blog RV Tire Safety. Read THIS post on Why Tires Fail.
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03-20-2022, 09:03 AM
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#17
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Las Cruces
Posts: 4,665
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tireman9
I published a short video on my RV Tire Safety blog of a failed "Hi-Pressure" rubber stem. Why risk loosing a TPM sensor and a tire to save a buck?
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That’s why I said metal stems for sure if running a TPMS. The sensors centrifugal force will bend the stem over and rub the wheels at minimum, but eventually cause the stem to fail as well. The OP doesn’t say what LR tire he’s running, but assume he only needs between 50-65 PSI since it’s a travel trailer, maybe 80. Most HP stems are rated for 100. I’ve never seen a HP valve stem fail under standard use, but I’m sure it can happen, everything fails at some point, I’ve seen metal stems leak as well.
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